The Uumbaji Gallery in Oscar Ritchie Hall will reopen with a book party and new exhibit today.

The department is celebrating the release of books by two of its faculty members, Mwatabu Okantah, assistant professor and director for the Center of Pan-African Culture, and Assistant Professor Babacar M’Baye.

Okantah’s “Reconnecting Memories: Dreams No Longer Deferred” and M’Baye’s “The Trickster Comes West” will be available for sale. The book party begins at 4:30 p.m.

Today is also the opening of the Frederick Loudin exhibit in the gallery. Loudin, of Ravenna, managed the Fisk Jubilee Singers as they performed worldwide in the 19th century.

In collaboration with the Portage County Historical Society, the department is presenting a look into the life and travels of the singers, originally from Fisk University in Tennessee.

The new exhibit will be open for viewing today from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Contact Ellen Kirtner at [email protected].